


Wayward Dreamer

by CynicalOldBat



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell, Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Baz is too busy being a posh college student to cross the pond, Be gentle, Dead Welsh Kings, F/M, He will cross the pond eventually-I'M SORRY., I haven't written a fanfiction in 5+ years forgive me, I'm trying my best, M/M, Mages AND Witches???, Mildly Out of Character, Nymphs & Dryads, Penelope and Blue friendship, Raven Cycle Spoilers, TRC x Carry On Crossover Fic, This is fine (everything was not fine), What's a car?, it's a trap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-05 18:32:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17924111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynicalOldBat/pseuds/CynicalOldBat
Summary: Professor Malory encourages his colleague, Martin Bunce (working under the guise of being a normal renown parapsychologist and magical folklore researcher), to head to Henrietta, Virginia, to investigate the mysterious ley lines that cause energy surges and an increase in paranormal activity along the Blue Ridge Mountains.However, Mr. Bunce has a different plan. He believes that by visiting Cabeswater National Park with his two summer interns he may be able to figure out a way to return magic to the remaining dead spots and possibly return Simon Snow's magic once and for all.-- -- -- -- -- -- --A Raven Cycle x Carry On crossover set after the events of Carry On. It takes place during events in The Raven Cycle but will not be exactly cannon. Things are definitely out of order, but I'm going to try to stay as close to cannon as possible (and of course shenanigans will be had). Contains massive spoilers for the WHOLE Raven Cycle.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written a fanfiction in over five years. I'm a wee bit stressed because it's been so long. Bear with me please. Things may be out of character but I'm trying my best.
> 
>  **Shoutout to my beta reader(s):**  
>  @CarlyBootes

His phone was ringing somewhere in Monmouth Manufacturing but he couldn’t find its source. He rushed around his room tossing books and blankets aside trying not to knock over his miniature Henrietta diorama in the process of finding the source of the shrill sound. It shouldn’t be this difficult to find his cellphone. Just last week he had been on Ronan’s case about losing his (not that Ronan would ever actually use the thing-which is probably why he was always losing it) but not being able to find his own was doing a right good job of making him look like a hypocrite. 

“You left it by the pool table,” Noah’s ethereal voice echoed from where he sat staring out the old factory windows. Gansey tried his hardest not to look too frightened, having not noticed him. He rushed to the pool table and grabbed the phone off its side. He hadn’t remembered leaving it there.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Gansey, you shouldn’t keep an old man waiting you know,” Professor Malory’s chipper voice echoed through the device. Gansey could hear him stirring something on the other side of the line. He pulled his phone away from his head momentarily to check the time.

“It’s 4-o-clock in the morning, I was asleep,” Gansey mutters, trying to quickly wake himself up enough to talk to his old friend.

“I know, time was of the essence. I believe I’ve found someone who can help with your ley line problem. I’ve already given them a taste of our discoveries, but nothing more than a taste. He’s extremely eager to get into contact with you.” 

Gansey, who had found his way to a chair near the makeshift kitchen almost fell out of it, “You have? Who are they? What are their credentials?!”

He was suddenly wide awake with the possibility of having someone else to help search for Glendower that Malory had already approved. 

“Mr. Martin Bunce. He’s a rather famous study of olde magick and folklore across the pound. I’d be surprised if you hadn't heard of him. I met him and a few of his associates while studying ley lines-or rather the disappearance of ley lines near Wales. I didn’t expect him to be interested in your situation in Henrietta as much as he was, but he was eager to get into contact with you as a guide to come check them out himself as soon as possible.”

“The disappearance of ley lines?” Gansey couldn’t believe what he was hearing. At no point in his study of ley lines or electromagnetic phenomena had he ever heard of it just disappearing. (Unless of course it was in regards to some crackpot alien sighting, then it was always a surge and a quick retraction.) Having someone come and help with his search for Glendower, who wasn't a complete stranger, made his stomach clench, but if Malory trusted him it wasn’t that bad of an idea to get an outsider's perspective. Especially one with such an extensive background. 

If Ronan were awake he’d tell him he was being an idiot for even considering this. He would never trust such a well educated and established researcher to come and look at the ley lines–to look at his Cabeswater. Even now at 4AM, while Ronan slept quietly in the other room it was his Cabeswater not Gansey’s, not Blue’s, not Glendower's. It was the property of its creator. No matter how eager Gansey was to find Glendower’s tomb, to thank him and claim the Glory for himself. Gansey wondered if perhaps he should wait until Ronan woke up to ask him about this-but he’d never asked for Ronan’s permission before and as much as knowing that Ronan created the place changed everything, it changed nothing.

“Yes,” Gansey said before he could stop himself or overthink it anymore. “I think getting Mr. Bunce’s perspective on our ley lines would be a good move.”  
“I was anticipating you saying that,” Professor Malory exclaimed on the other end of the telephone. His voice was muffled as if full of some of the breakfast Gansey was now without a doubt sure of him eating on the opposite side. “I already gave him as much information as possible. I’d expect you to hear from him not long from now.”

When Gansey had been told that, he’d expected a call or an email from Professor Bunce. He hadn’t expected to arrive back home from school, with Noah settled into the back of the Pig and Blue sitting beside him with her arms crossed irritated for him having picked her up from school, to the 2018 Silver Chevy Malibu rental car parked outside the sprawling metal labyrinth of Monmouth Manufacturing.

“Are you expecting someone?” Blue asked noticing the car first, she looked suspiciously towards the vehicle up ahead. 

“No,” Gansey echoed the suspicion in her eyes as he pulled up and the engine cut to a sputtering, sickening, hault. Slowly, he pulled his keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car door into the Mid-May Virginia heat pushing the seat up against the steering wheel so Noah could climb out of the back.  
Before them, a man stepped out of the car and grinned wide at them. 

“Are you Richard Campbell Gansey?” The man asked. He was mundane in every way, wearing a patchwork style suit and big sunglasses to cover his eyes from the sun but his accent was surely English.

“The third,” Gansey confirmed walking forward and extending his hand. For a shake. “Who do I owe the pleasure?”

“Oh, right right. I’m sorry. I was told you were aware I was coming. Martin Bunce, researcher of Magick and Medieval Folklore, well soon to be Professor. Malory told me he’d tell you I was coming.”

Of course this was Malory’s doing. Gansey should have known. He stole a glance over towards Blue who sat pressed up against the hood of The Pig with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed from the sun before looking back towards the man. 

“He hadn’t told me you’d be visiting,” Gansey didn’t want to sound rude, afterall it wasn’t Mr. Bunce’s fault Malory had simply forgotten to tell him a stranger was coming across the ocean to meet with him. If he had, Gansey would have at least asked him to wait until the end of the semester so he wouldn’t have to juggle finals and his search for Glendower at the same time. “But, I’m glad to have you here.”

Mr. Bunce put a hand up against his neck awkwardly and Gansey immediately jumped into action motioning for them to start walking towards the large metal door. “Please, come on in. We can have a cup of coffee and discuss things. You've come a long way, you must be tired."

“I’d be happy to, thank you,” Mr. Bunce tried not to sound relieved, but still did, as he opened the car door to the Malibu and pulled a leather messenger bag out. He said something to someone else inside the rental car and immediately the passenger side door popped open along with the back. Gansey hadn’t considered there being more people inside, but Malory had mentioned Mr. Bunce having a team of sorts in the UK. Monmouth suddenly felt, for the first time in Gansey's life, too small for his search for Glendower. 

Surprise struck Gansey when the two passengers that got out of the car to stand alongside Mr. Bunce looked to be the same age as him. He stared at them, taking them in. The boy-the one sitting in the back seat-was fair, orange, and a conglomerate of freckles and moles. From the passenger side, a girl was wild with brown hair that met elegant with dark skin and features. She clutched a book to her chest as she smiled up at him. 

“Mr. Gansey, this is Simon Snow. He’s interning with me for the summer, " he gestures to the boy before turning to the girl, "and this is my daughter, Penelope. She’s well versed in American folklore.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Penelope smiled, the boy just raised a hand to wave quietly. Gansey nodded at them. 

“Pleasure’s all mine, please come on in.”


	2. Chapter Two

Blue Sergeant had lived around her family at 300 Fox Way long enough to know not to judge people by their appearance or their quirkiness, but there was something about these three British researchers that was setting her on edge. 

She kicked mindlessly at the bottom of the couch where she sat next to Noah sharing the same feeling of confusion as Gansey hit it off with Mr. Bunce at the makeshift table nestled peculiarly halfway out of his kitchen/bathroom combo. His daughter and the intern are murmuring quietly to one another across the room where they sit on another couch that Ronan made out of found pallets and cushions (probably stolen from Declan).

She watched them wearily as they looked over a book and the boy paused every few seconds to text on a cellphone. They seemed normal enough, and Blue didn’t exactly have any reason to believe that there was something particularly wrong with them. (Although she wouldn’t be surprised if there was.) Something didn’t sit well with her at the idea of them having head off to a different country without so much as a check in with who they were meeting up with. It gave these visitors a feeling of desperation, and Blue didn’t have a particularly good track record with desperate people entering her life. 

Noah who’s been staring directly at the other two without blinking tilts his head to the side and giggles to himself. Blue stiffens. She’s never heard Noah giggle before. Snicker, laugh, and even howl with joy….but never giggle. It’s unsettling.

“What’s so funny?” She whispers at him but it comes out with more of a hiss than she means.

Noah looks at her blinking for a few moments before turning his eyes back onto the two sitting across the room. “You don’t…..”

He pauses still studying them and watching them so intently that he could bore a hole into them. “You don’t see anything odd?”

Blue looks over at them again studying them like she’s trying to memorize them for a police sketch artist to draw later. They’re nothing out of the ordinary. They both seem rather mundane if she was being honest. Maybe she was just too used to being around Aglionby boys and psychics to notice interesting things in normal people. As if sensing their eyes on them the girl looks up to meet her eyes. Much to her dismay she gets up from the other couch and makes her way over go them, the boy in tow.

“No, I don’t,” Blue answers quickly before putting on her best fake smile.

Noah giggles again and it makes Blue huff at him like she’s missing an inside joke. He watches her, scrunching up his smudged face into a large cheshire cat grin before speaking in a voice just as amused; “Speak of the devil.”

“Hi,” the girl sticks her dark hand out to Blue a large purple ring glistening on her finger. “I’m Penelope Bunce.”

“Blue Sargent,” Blue smiles taking the hand and giving it a quick lackadaisy shake making her mismatched bracelets shake on her own hand. “This is Noah.”

Noah just waves, not bothering to shake Penelope’s outstretched hand. 

“I’m Simon,” the boy smiles a toothy grin at Blue that’s so contagious Blue finds herself smiling back. “It’s real cool of you guys to welcome us into your….uh...home?”

“Oh, I don’t live here,” Blue answers a little too quickly before lowering her voice, “If I did they certainly wouldn’t have a kitchen-bathroom combo.” 

“I was wondering about that, is it an American thing?” Simon asks lowering himself onto the floor in front of the couch rather than asking Blue or Noah to scoot over. Penelope gives him a disapproving look. 

“No, definitely not. But, it’s certainly a Gansey thing,” Noah answers. He’s doing his best to avoid making eye contact with Simon. Not even glancing in his direction which makes things slightly difficult because he’s sitting directly in front of him. 

“So, you guys came all this way to research some ley lines?” Blue asks trying to downplay Cabeswater. If she was being completely honest, she wouldn’t want anyone to step foot in Cabeswater that didn’t go through an intense screening process. Or at least, for anyone that didn’t get cleared by Ronan. The longer they sat here chit-chatting the more suspicious she got that Gansey hadn’t actually told Ronan about any of this….and that definitely wasn’t going to sit well with him. 

“Yeah, we’re fascinated by them! I mean electromagnetic fields that just suddenly appear and pulsate? We’ve never seen anything like them. To actually get in there and test the area is a dream come true, innit Simon?”

Simon looks up from his phone startled, “Definitely. We’re really glad that your friend agreed to let us come check them out and stuff.”

“The more the merrier,” Blue lied right before all hell broke loose.

* * *

The sun was setting just over the tree-line when Ronan Lynch pulled up the drive towards Monmouth Manufacturing. His body ached from a fistfight, his stomach growled from skipping lunch, and his mind was racing. Chainsaw tilted her head from where she sat on the dashboard when she saw the second car in the drive beside the Pig.

_“ KERAH," _ she looks at him tilting her head again. 

“Yeah, looks like trouble. Just what we need right now,” Ronan sighs shoving the car into park and leaning back against the seat. He’s exhausted, but the thought of sleeping–of dreaming–leaves him wide awake. He opens the car door and slams it shut with such a bang he expects it to be fair warning enough for Gansey and whomever he has over. He trudges his way up into Monmouth, Chainsaw perched happily atop his shoulder. 

“Ronan,” Gansey exclaims before he’s even fully in the door. “Good! There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Ronan eyes the room questioningly, pushing his shoulders back when he sees how many strangers are in his dwelling. “Can it wait until tomorrow? I’m exhausted.”

“No, definitely not,” Gansey grins, coming over and putting a hand on his back. Ronan resists the urge to twist him around and put him in an arm lock. 

_ “KERAH,"  _ Chainsaw bellows flying off Ronan’s shoulder and towards the boy sitting on the floor. She lands next to him tilting her head from side to side at him. She bounces back and forth biting at the air with her beak and raising a clawed foot up towards him. He tries to shoo her away to no avail.

“Chainsaw, get back here,” Ronan scolds, the bird looks up at him with another head tilt before returning to his shoulder.

“Chainsaw?” the boy asks with a laugh. “The bird’s name is Chainsaw?”

“Yeah, and who the hell are you?”

“These are researchers from England, friends of Malory’s they’re here to talk about the leylines,” Gansey says in a tone that begs Ronan to not fly further off the handle.

“Well, at least they’re not as old as he is,” Ronan mutters walking into the kitchen. He walks right past Mr. Bunce not bothering to say anything. He grabs a cup of coffee from the coffee maker and shoves a handful of chips into his mouth that he’s retrieved from the pantry. 

“Yeah, Malory is getting up there isn’t he?” Mr. Bunce says in an attempt to make small talk. “I’m Martin Bunce, the two in there are my daughter Penelope and my intern Simon. We’re quite excited to be here.”

“And I don’t care,” Ronan mutters taking another sip of the coffee. “I’m not taking you to see Cabeswater.”

“What?” Mr. Bunce and Gansey sputter at the same time. Ronan looks around the room, all eyes now on him, and glares.   
“You heard me, now I think it’d be best if you guys got back in your hideous rental car and go back to the airport or whatever the hell it is you used to get here and go back home. There’s nothing to see here.”

The three strangers startle a bit at that last part of Ronan’s sentence and share a glance with one another before Penelope chooses to speak.

“We understand your concern, something like this is extremely groundbreaking for the scientific community. We wouldn’t want to overstep, but we’ve come so very far for this. Please, we’d love to have you show us around. We’d love to take some readings at the very least, so the trip wasn’t a complete loss.”

“How rude of me!” Gansey exclaims over the top of Ronan about to insult the room further. “You all must be exhausted from your flight. I’ll tell you what, why don’t I get you set up with the nicest hotel in Henrietta and we’ll touch base again in the morning. Tomorrow’s Saturday so Ronan won’t be so cranky and the rest of us will be able to talk more about this.”

“That’s fine, Mr. Gansey. We already have a hotel just on the outskirts of town and we wouldn’t want to overstay our welcome,” Mr. Bunce smiles. Gansey shows them out, following them down the staircase and out to the driveway apologizing profusely for Ronan’s rudeness. 

Ronan huffs down onto the pallet couch,“What the hell?” 

“My thoughts exactly! I mean, who travels across the world without checking in first?” Blue exclaims finally comfortable with the room again. 

“Desperate people,” Noah mutters, pulling his legs up to his chest. “Ronan did you notice anything weird about Simon?”

“Which one’s Simon?”

“The boy, asshole.”

“Oh, right. Other than the awkward gait and cell phone addiction? No, nothing out of the ordinary.”

“Chainsaw seemed to like him though,” Blue pipes up with a smile. The bird, recognizing her name, swoops from Ronan’s shoulder over to sit beside Blue on the couch. She nuzzles her head against her leg. Blue tickles the birds neck with her blue-painted fingernail. 

“Huh,” Noah mutters again before wandering out of the room towards his own.

Gansey appears moments later in the doorway, “Why do you have to be rude to everyone?”

“This is just my personality.”

“Well your personality needs an upgrade,” Gansey groans falling onto the couch beside Blue. “I wasn’t happy about this either but I wasn’t about to be rude about it.”

“You don’t have a rude bone in your body,” Blue says, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “It’s part of the Gansey charm.”

“The Gansey charm? Being a decent human being is a charm now?”

“Gansey, there’s a fine line between being a decent human being and being gullible,” Blue snaps. “Did you ever stop to think that those guys might have an ulterior motive for being here? Why else would they just show up?”

“Wait, so you didn’t know they were coming?” Ronan exclaims, slamming his coffee cup down onto the side-table making the lamp sitting atop it shake. “That’s worse than when I thought you didn’t tell me about this because you knew I wouldn’t like it!”

“Well, not exactly. Malory did call me a few days ago about it but I thought he meant Martin Bunce would get in contact me via email or a phone call in a few days to set up a visit. I didn’t expect him to show up on my doorstep.”

“So, you’re okay with this? You’re okay with strangers looking Cabeswater? Malory called and you’re just like ‘Of course ole chap, I’d be thrilled for them to have a gander at my magical forest, cheerio mate’!?” Ronan exclaims doing the worst impression of a British accent Gansey or Blue have ever heard.

“Well, I definitely didn’t put it like that.”

“Good because last I checked this wasn’t something we were advertising. But, if we are now, great, I’ll call Channel 5 and we can tell them all about the magical forest that I dreamed where a dead Welsh king is buried waiting to grant wishes and the trees speak to us in Latin!”

Blue snickers, covering it with a cough and scratching the top of Chainsaw’s head.

“Look, I just think we should give them a chance. They seem pretty harmless.”

“If you’re really concerned, Ronan, we can ask Persephone.”

“That might be wise,” Gansey smiles, “Tomorrow before we meet up with them why don’t we meet at Blue’s and see what they think?”

“I think that’s a terrible idea,” Ronan sighs.

“Great, it’s a plan.”


End file.
